Playboy Music

By devoting herself to Nelson Riddle and operetta, Sun City stalwart
Linda Ronstadt has made boycotting painless; but her long-promised
hookup with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, Trio
(Warner), will be hard to resist for those with a weakness for the
vocal luxuries of the mainstream record biz. An acoustic-country album
meandering from Farther Along and Jimmie Rodgers to Kate
McGarrigle and Linda Thompson, Trio is a literally thrilling
apotheosis of harmony--three voices that have thrived and triumphed
individually engaged in heartfelt cooperation. Free of tits, glitz and
syndrums for the first time in a decade, Parton's penetrating purity
dominates the album as it once did country-music history. The only one
of the three who's had the courage of her roots recently, Harris
sounds as thoughtful up front as she does in the backup roles re her
forte. And while Ronstadt's big, plummy contralto will always hint of
creamed corn, she's a luscious side dish in this company.

Although some would stick with Sam Cooke, I say Al Green is blessed
with the most beautiful instrument of any male soul singer. As he
ages, its boyish delicacy and mellow insouciance roughen a little;
but, like Aretha Franklin, all he needs is decent material and the
spirit to put it across. While his reliance on Jesus Christ has
assured his recent output of a consistency Franklin's lacks, his
eighth Gospel album, Soul Survivor (A&M), is his
first undeniable winner since 1982's Higher Plane. Green is
canny enough to go for more grit these days, but he can still muster
that high moan; and by returning to the kinds of pop standards that
enriched his secular days--namely, You've Got a Friend and
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother--he makes a welcome bid to
connect once again with nonbelievers.